PSVANE Discussion & Impressions Thread
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Wanted to share my experience with PSVANE here, as I have contacted a PSVANE member here inquiring about a quad set of PSVANE ACME KT88 tubes on September 30th. After a couple of days, I did receive an answer to contact her colleague through psvaneusa@gmail.com, which I did.
I agreed to buy a matched quad set of ACME KT88 tubes, provided my full shipping details, and paid the PayPal invoice sent by the seller.
The tubes were sent by DHL Express and arrived safely about two weeks after I started the conversation with them.
Upon inserting them in my integrated amplifier, after the initialization procedure, the amplifier went immediately into protection mode, as apparently one set of tubes was indicated as faulty (my amp will not allow me to set any bias if the tubes are faulty and has a protection circuit that will be triggered).
Long story short, I contacted the seller and we went on a week-long back and forth saga, with the seller asking me to check the bias (which cannot even be accessed if a grid tube is faulty), send a video of the issue (which I promptly did), and then letting me know that they would get back to me with a resolution.
This never happened proactively, so I had to chase the seller multiple times for an update, which only happened today, after multiple attempts from my side to get this sorted by getting the faulty pair of tubes replaced (even though I paid for a matched quad set, but that is a different topic).
To my surprise, the seller asked me to "break the tubes" and send him a confirmation picture of it...which, as you can imagine, caused a bit of surprise from my side, as this is not something that a buyer is expected to do. But I sent the tubes back for them to check them and eventually send me a replacement.
From here on, the seller (who signs as Joe), the tone of the conversation has abruptly changed after I mentioned to Joe that I am reluctant to do this due to safety concerns first, as well as this sounding a bit shady... His replies ranged from "You have to do that if you want replacement! That’s our policy for replacement!" to "We will not pay for the return!" to "We are a factory not sellers! We promise to send you a replacement. If not, do you want to do!".
I was a bit puzzled at first, as I was not expecting this approach and these replies, but upon more careful checking of some other internet threads on this, I found that this was not an exception, with multiple other buyers reporting the same quality issues and abrupt conversations with PSVANE. Quality concerns over these tubes are commonly shared on various forum threads or European sellers' websites, so it seems the products are more of a hit and miss.
Currently, I have a case opened with PayPal, but I would definitely exercise more caution moving forward with any "direct factory" purchases from overseas manufacturers - lesson learn the hard way, I guess!
I agreed to buy a matched quad set of ACME KT88 tubes, provided my full shipping details, and paid the PayPal invoice sent by the seller.
The tubes were sent by DHL Express and arrived safely about two weeks after I started the conversation with them.
Upon inserting them in my integrated amplifier, after the initialization procedure, the amplifier went immediately into protection mode, as apparently one set of tubes was indicated as faulty (my amp will not allow me to set any bias if the tubes are faulty and has a protection circuit that will be triggered).
Long story short, I contacted the seller and we went on a week-long back and forth saga, with the seller asking me to check the bias (which cannot even be accessed if a grid tube is faulty), send a video of the issue (which I promptly did), and then letting me know that they would get back to me with a resolution.
This never happened proactively, so I had to chase the seller multiple times for an update, which only happened today, after multiple attempts from my side to get this sorted by getting the faulty pair of tubes replaced (even though I paid for a matched quad set, but that is a different topic).
To my surprise, the seller asked me to "break the tubes" and send him a confirmation picture of it...which, as you can imagine, caused a bit of surprise from my side, as this is not something that a buyer is expected to do. But I sent the tubes back for them to check them and eventually send me a replacement.
From here on, the seller (who signs as Joe), the tone of the conversation has abruptly changed after I mentioned to Joe that I am reluctant to do this due to safety concerns first, as well as this sounding a bit shady... His replies ranged from "You have to do that if you want replacement! That’s our policy for replacement!" to "We will not pay for the return!" to "We are a factory not sellers! We promise to send you a replacement. If not, do you want to do!".
I was a bit puzzled at first, as I was not expecting this approach and these replies, but upon more careful checking of some other internet threads on this, I found that this was not an exception, with multiple other buyers reporting the same quality issues and abrupt conversations with PSVANE. Quality concerns over these tubes are commonly shared on various forum threads or European sellers' websites, so it seems the products are more of a hit and miss.
Currently, I have a case opened with PayPal, but I would definitely exercise more caution moving forward with any "direct factory" purchases from overseas manufacturers - lesson learn the hard way, I guess!
Thank you for sharing the details of this situation. First, Joe is indeed one of our official sales representatives. I would like to sincerely apologize for the unprofessional tone of our communication in handling this matter.
To clarify, in cases where our tubes are sold directly from China, we typically handle replacements by sending a new set via courier once we receive an image showing the damaged tube broken. The reason for this policy is that we discovered some damaged tubes we had replaced were somehow ending up in the secondhand market, which unfortunately caused significant issues for other users. This policy has been in place for many years as a preventive measure, though I understand it may feel unusual.
Thank you for your swift reply, appreciate it! The set I bought was sold to me as a matched quad though, so wanted to know: if only a single tube faulty that needs to be broken (and a replacement sent), how is that going to match the rest of the other three tubes, please?
Please provide us with the parameters, and we will match the replacement tube accordingly.
For example, the following two photos show a previously broken tube submitted by a customer and the replacement we provided. In the second photo, there is a data paper with parameter values. You can privately message us or Joe with a picture of that sheet, and we will arrange for a replacement that aligns with those specifications.
I already have the measurement sheet that I took a picture of when I received the the tubes, will check once more the existing tubes to make sure I identify exactly if it is only one or two faulty tubes and will get back to you and Joe with all details/pictures soon
Attachments
Certainly, thank you for your cooperation. Once you’ve confirmed, please send the specific parameter sheet and photos to both us and Joe, so we can promptly arrange a matched replacement tube shipment.
We are committed to resolving this for you. Thanks again for your patience and understanding!
This is done all the time with companies and is normal.
Not sure what the "surprise" is or your feeling "put out"?
I've had several fans and other items that break during warranty period and in every instance they ask for a picture of the power cord cut in several places and some type of damage done to the unit to ensure we won't then end up with TWO working units when they send out the replacement for free.
Honestly, the out-of-propotion reaction on your end is what's most surprising.
- You got a bad tube.
- They responded and offered to send you out replacements (ohhhh - it took a couple of day to respond. The nerve of them!)
- Of course the conversation tone changed - he was trying to help and you were being ridiculous.
- They wanted to make sure you weren't lying and going to end up with EXTRA sets of working tubes (totally reasonable).
- You made it more difficult than it needed to be because you felt "put out".
- Then you come here to complain about how you were unreasonable and you made this more difficult than it needed to be
The only issue I see here is on your side. Not the companies side.
I'm sorry - I'm ALL for holding companies accountable for their actions. But when customers are the issue - as in this instance - the customers need to be called out.
Not sure why you are going for a personal attack here and calling me ridiculous, but the seller initially telling me they don't care is not an issue for you...but not gonna entertain this conversation.
Anyhow, the practice of breaking tubes or cutting wires might be a thing in US, but it's definitely not a think in Europe where these tubes were delivered, hence my surprise when hearing about this ask. At least, customers are considered to be acting in good faith unless proven otherwise...
Overall, I am not complaining, just stating some facts - not sure why you felt going for such a rant, but each to his own...
Happy to see PSVANE stepping in here and trying to help, which didn't seem that obvious chatting with their sales rep initially, hence my post here.
No personal attack.
Based on what you wrote here - the seller tried to take care of you, you made it difficult, and you came here to complain.
And I've spent YEARS working in Europe. The statement people assume people are telling the truth because you are in Europe is silly. The seller wanted to make sure you were being honest and your "surprise" prevented that from happening.
I merely commented that unlike your portrayal of being unable to handle and cope with your surprise, it appears - based on what you wrote - that you were being difficult.
Now claiming it's a personal attack only solidifies my perception.
Not sure what why are trying to achieve with these posts, tbh...and you are clearly misreading my replies and don't have a good grasp of what happened, either. Whatever your perception is about me, that is definitely a perception and not a fact. I am currently sending in the pics, as requested by the seller here, so you can take a break from your assumptions and characterizations for a little while.
So you posted here to complain.
People react to you post.
You complain people have reacted to a post.
What I stated is fact based on your post about your actions and reactions.
You characterized yourself by your original post with the fact you couldn't handle the (GASP!) SURPRISE! of someone wanting to make sure you were telling the truth on the tubes before they sent you out new ones.
I just am always amazed at how some people make big deals out of nothing. All you had to do was break the tubes and he would have sent you new ones. Instead here you are on a forum complaining about a situation you needlessly made more difficult and doubly complaining when people comment on it.
Here's a novel idea, if the rep had explained to him why he wanted the tube broken then it would have been clear and the back and forth angst would have been avoided. Customers shouldn't have to go through hoops trying to figure out the whys with companies they rarely deal with. Whether or not coming onto a form to detail the situation is another matter
How do you know he didn't? Isn't it obvious to any semi-intelligent person?
I TOTALLY agree with you on calling out companies for B.S. And yes some are very difficult. We're on the same page. But this isn't one of those cases.
If he can't figure out why the tube needed to be broken, then there is a much larger issue to discuss.
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Gentlemen, let's get this thread back on track and about Psvane tubes.
There was no personal attack made in this thread. There was an experience shared and posted, followed by a reaction to that experience. Yes, it could have been stated a bit more cordial in nature but with that said, let's get back to the thread subject. Any further posts about the previous post(s) and consequent reactions will be deleted. This practice is standard with many return policies, even outside of audio.
Thank you.
Tom
There was no personal attack made in this thread. There was an experience shared and posted, followed by a reaction to that experience. Yes, it could have been stated a bit more cordial in nature but with that said, let's get back to the thread subject. Any further posts about the previous post(s) and consequent reactions will be deleted. This practice is standard with many return policies, even outside of audio.
Thank you.
Tom
I don't believe a factory matched tube is much of a match. Have you read what Kevin of Upcale Audio has to say of matching. Non of the factory tubes are measures for microphonics.
I wish a reputable dealer would take on these Chinese lines in the US and really match them. I guess it says something when no one but Amazon will. I bet the acceptable percentage for high end audio gear would be 50%. That leaves guitar tubes or trash. Now your asking $300 per KT88. Audiophile won't pay it. So your gambling when getting a quad.
I wish a reputable dealer would take on these Chinese lines in the US and really match them. I guess it says something when no one but Amazon will. I bet the acceptable percentage for high end audio gear would be 50%. That leaves guitar tubes or trash. Now your asking $300 per KT88. Audiophile won't pay it. So your gambling when getting a quad.
Republicoftexas69
Well-Known Member
This not uncommon and it is known as 'Destroy In Field"
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